Disruption expected as road resurfacing planned for Chichester city centre

The carriageway in Old Market Ave, Theatre Lane and South, East, North and West Pallant is showing signs of significant weakening, West Sussex County Council said, and the new surface will be smoother, reducing road noise and will be more resilient to potholes. Road markings will also be renewed.

The works will be split into four phases, with dates subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances, such as severe weather: Monday September 20, North Pallant; Tuesday September 21, West Pallant; Wednesday September 22, East Pallant; and Thursday September 23 and Friday September 24, South Pallant, Theatre Lane and Old Market Avenue. Hours of work will generally be between 8am and 6pm.

The roads will be closed to through traffic for the protection of both the public and workforce and pedestrian barriers positioned adjacent to the works.

Shops and other businesses will be able to open as normal. However, access to two of the public car parks in the area will be very restricted on certain days – the one in East Pallant (Baffins Lane Car Park) on the Wednesday (September 22) and one to the west side of South Pallant (South Pallant Car Park) on the Thursday/Friday (September 23/24).

Before the works start, advance warning signs will be placed in the local area, where any changes to project dates will also be displayed.

A West Sussex County Council spokesperson said: “We appreciate these are narrow, historic roads and that work of this nature does cause disruption for both residents and businesses, for which we apologise. However, every effort will be made to try to minimise the inconvenience and the short-term disruption will lead to long-term improvements for road users.”